Case study... Private property?

[juno_lau]

I think this topic have been discussed for many times already...
I am sorry to bring it up again, but it happened to me for the 1st time...

So I was walking on the street
and there was a restaurant at the corner.
They have seats on the street which are fenced
and the staff were setting up a few lamp post/heater unit (I am not sure how to describe it, but they do have actual fire),
and I like it, so I decided to take a picture of the post.

Then the staff stopped me and say those are private properties,
so I cant take a picture of it.

I was standing on the street and I know that they don't really have the right to stop me, right?

But then I checked it can be a kind of trespassing...

So would you take a picture in this case?
Is in risky to do so?

P.S.
I am in NYC
and I went away without taking a picture... 🙁

 

[bolohead]

In general, if you are standing on public property, you are within your rights to take a picture.

 

[nikon_sam]

If you can see it while standing on public property then you're okay...
The only time it's not is if there is an understood right to privacy...
Say you're standing in a public area but looking through a person's bedroom window...that is an invasion of privacy...
Take the picture...there's nothing they can do or say to stop you...if they threaten you or say there are calling the police...let them...
Some will claim Copyright infringements...that only applies if you're selling a image that's not yours...
Mickey Mouse is Copyrighted but his image is being photographed thousands of time each day on private property...it's only an issue if you try to profit from it...
Tell them to look up Google Maps of their address and asked how could that be if it's PP...
A true New Yorker would have taken the picture, flipped them the bird and walked off...

 

[willie_901]

Here's how i think about this.

The staff has no legal right to expectation of privacy when they can be viewed from public property.

Property itself has no innate right to privacy as long as the photographer is not trespassing. In fact, recently a home in San Francisco was used in an ad without permission and the homeowners lost their lawsuit against the photographer. I know of no case in the U.S. where photography of property has ever been subject to privacy issues when the photographer was not trespassing.

You can photograph a trademarked item, but how you use the photograph is an entirely different matter.

The proper response is a polite, but confident statement like: "I know I have the right to take this photograph. If you disagree... call the police."

90% of law enforcement officers (not private security guards) know the law and will ignore a situation such as this. The staff used the only weapon they had, intimidation, and it worked.

The ACLU recently published guidelines about this very issue.

 

[grahamule]

The ACLU recently published guidelines about this very issue.

Here is a link that could be relevant: http://www.aclu.org/free-speech/know-your-rights-photographers

It may seem that you could fall under either the first or second point, but taking the words at their most literal, you were *on* public property (first point) not *on* private property (second point). I would agree with most of the others here and say that you are completely fine.

 

[Gumby]

What the restaurant staff intended to say but perhaps couldn't find the right words is, "I'd rather you not take my photograph."

 

[KenR]

public private

public private

Sometimes it can be tricky as the distinction between private property and a public space can bevague. Rockefeller Center in NYC is one area - looks public but is actually private property and so they can stop you from taking a picture if they want. I wanted to use a tripod there and was told that I could not use one on their property. I knew enough to ask where their property ended and was shown a brass marker in the sidewalk. I set up my tripod on the "public" sidewalk and they watched me and didn't say a thing. You have to know your rights.

 

[nikon_sam]

There are some buildings in Los Angeles that have the sidewalk marked as to what is private property...ask the person questioning you if there is some indicator they can show you...cross the line to the public side and shoot away...
I was asked not to photograph these two buildings in LA as I was on their private property, I asked where the line was and it was about 30 feet away...I smiled and said "Okay"...
There are areas that would seem to be public but indeed are not as KenR has stated...
The worst they can do is have you cited for Trespassing...they cannot force you to delete your image or give up your film...
Know your Rights...it's very important...if you refuse to fight for them they'll take them away every time...